OUR STORY
Where Tactical Reality Meets Cinematic Artistry
CANDLe was built on a simple conviction: true immersion cannot be faked. When you hear a burst of automatic fire in a video game, the mechanical roar of a vintage radial engine, or the subtle crunch of gravel under combat boots, your brain instantly knows whether it’s real or synthesized.
At CANDLe, we don’t approximate sound and sight, we resurrect it with military precision and creative passion.
Before founding CANDLe, our roots were planted deep in the Household Cavalry Regiment. Serving 16 years as an armoured reconnaissance crew commander, section commander and UAS commander, our founder deployed across the globe, from the deserts of Oman to the jungles of Brunei, and operational tours in Cyprus to the Ukrainian steppe.
Holding qualifications as a live-fire and blank-safety supervisor, communications specialist, and exercise conducting officer, this decade and a half of active service instilled an unshakeable, first-hand understanding of combat environments.
LCoH Davies (Dan) firing the Glock 17
16 Years on the Front Line (2011 – 2027)
We know the exact weight of tactical decisions, the distinct acoustic profile of every weapon system, and the subtle nuances of squad movement. When we advise on set or design audio for a tactical game, we bring authentic military experience, not textbook guesses.
LCoH Davies (Dan) with his British & American brothers & Sisters!
The audio journey began in 2010 during the golden age of Half-Life modding, experimenting with raw soundscapes and digital signal processing;
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The Breakout Moment (2017): A single, meticulously recorded MG42 sample sent to Black Matter Entertainment landed CANDLe in the audio engine of Hell Let Loose, a breakout tactical shooter that redefined WWII audio design.
The Sound Design Evolution (2010 – Present)
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Retro Audio Engineering (2024): Approached by FootStomp Studios,
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CANDLe took on Monday Meltdown, custom-recording and mixing 90s -style retro SFX to deliver fast-paced arcade feedback.
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Cinematic Aviation Scale (2026): Director Luke Campion brought CANDLe onto the feature film WARBIRD. CANDLe engineered and mixed the entire second hour of the film from scratch, rebuilding every soundscape, weapon response, and ambient cue. Following its success, we were brought back to re-engineer key mechanical and aviation soundscapes for the film’s first half, breathing tactile realism into historic aircraft engines.
The sound that sparked a career!
In an era where synthetic media and automated AI generation are diluting visual and acoustic storytelling, CANDLe stands firmly on genuine craftsmanship, hands-on field recording, and human artistry.
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Authentic Audio Capture & Acoustic Engineering: Every weapon discharge,
mechanical component, and ambient layer is recorded from real-world
physical sources or engineered by hand. When original audio recordings
of rare machinery do not exist, we analyse historical engine specifications,
mechanical blueprints, and technical documentation to accurately reconstruct sound scapes from the ground up.
Manipulating original items to ensure the 'weight' of the sound
100% Human-Crafted — The No-AI Guarantee
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Precision Frame-by-Frame Restoration: Our historical colourisation and footage upscaling rely on painstaking, manual frame-by-frame colour adjustment, historical textile research, and primary-source validation. We do not use automated AI "colourising" that produce unnatural shifts, historical inaccuracies, or visual artifacts.
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Genuine Expertise: On-set tactical advising and sound design decisions come directly from 15 years of operational military service, giving your production real human intuition, tactical realism, and uncompromising quality.
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Our Promise: When you work with CANDLe, your final product will be 100% human-engineered audio and visual art, tailored, authentic, and built to stand the test of time.
Our archival restoration division was born from a passion for historical preservation. Beginning with static black-and-white photographs in 2025, we developed a proprietary frame-by-frame restoration workflow. By carefully upscaling footage, restoring degraded film grain, and applying historically accurate, frame-adjusted colourisation, we transform raw historical reels into vivid, relatable moments.
To complete the transformation, we layer fully original, spatial audio onto the restored footage. Drawing directly from real-world military memory and acoustic experience, every restored reel becomes an immersive time capsule, placing viewers directly into history as if they were standing there themselves.
Breathing Life into History (Restoration & Colorisation)
The Battle of Stalingrad
Tailored to Your Vision
Whether you are a game developer needing authentic weapon acoustics, a director seeking on-set tactical advising, or a studio restoring historic footage, CANDLe delivers bespoke audio-visual solutions built to match your exact scope.